Modification of natural rubber tubes for biomaterials. II. Radiation-induced grafting of N,N-dimethylaminoethylacrylate (DMAEA) onto natural rubber (NR) tubes

Radiation-induced simultaneous grafting of N,N-dimethylaminoethylacrylate (DMAEA) onto NR tubes has been studied to improve blood compatibility of NR tubes. In the grafting of DMAEA onto NR tubes, effect of grafting parameters such as solvent, monomer concentration, temperature, dose, and dose rate on the grafting yield was investigated. As the results, it was found that the grafting proceeds effectively in the presence of carbontetrachloride (CCI₄) as a solvent. The initial rate of grafting was found to be proportional to 0.70 power of dose rate and to 0.95 power of monomer concentration. The activation energy for this grafting system was calculated to be 6.78 kcal/mol. The evaluation of blood compatibility of NR-g-DMAEA was carried out by ex vivo test. Blood compatibility of those samples was found to be dependent on only grafting yield. When the degree of grafting is higher than 30 wt %, blood compatibility of NR tube could be improved by DMAEA grafting. This is the same tendency which that of previous grafting system of NR-g-DMAA.     

Physical and chemical properties of methyl trifluoroacrylate–α-olefin copolymer and its hydrolyzed copolymer

Physical and chemical properties of alternating copolymers of methyl α,β,β-trifluoroacrylate (MTFA; CF₂?CFCO₂CH₃) with α-olefins such as ethylene, propylene, and isobutylene and their hydrolyzed copolymers were investigated. The original ester-type copolymers are amorphous and hydrophobic. The copolymers, except for the MTFA–isobutylene copolymer, were found to be easily hydrolyzed in boiled NaOH–methanol aqueous solution to give hydrophilic fluoropolymers which contain nearly theoretical amounts of carboxyl groups. No chain scission takes place during the hydrolysis. The decomposition temperature of the original ester-type copolymers is in the range of 347° to 379°C in nitrogen atmosphere, and the glass transition temperature is in the range of 21° to 76°C. Two steps of weight decrease, at around 100°C due to the removal of absorbed water and around 250°C due to the decomposition, were observed in the TGA curve of the hydrolyzed acid-type copolymers. Both ester- and acid-type copolymers were crosslinked by electron beam irradiation, while the MTFA–isobutylene copolymer was degraded. The tensile strength of the copolymers is in the range of 190 to 450 kg/cm².     

Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering of a series of size-separated polyynes

Solutions of hydrogen-capped polyynes were prepared by laser ablation of graphite powder in n-hexane and subjected to size separation by high-performance liquid chromatography. Solutions of size-selected polyynes C_nH₂ (n = 8–16) were investigated by normal Raman (NR) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. A main band appearing in the 2000–2200 cm⁻¹ region of the NR spectra showed a systematic downward shift as the chain length increased. The observed NR bands were assigned to Raman-active CC stretching vibrational modes by comparison with calculations based on density functional theory. Raman bands observed in SERS spectra were very broad and located at frequencies lower than the NR bands. A systematic band shift with increasing chain length was also observed for one of the bands. This band was thus assigned to a counterpart of the strong band in the NR spectra. These results made it possible to assign the origins of previously reported SERS bands of mixed polyyne solutions.     

Excess Solute Carbon and Tetragonality in As-Quenched Fe-1Mn-C (C:0.07 to 0.8 Mass Pct) Martensite

The carbon distribution behavior and crystal structure of as-quenched martensite in Fe-1Mn-C (C: 0.07 to 0.8 mass pct) steels were quantitatively investigated by atom probe tomography (APT) and X-ray diffraction with Rietveld analysis. APT revealed that the martensite steels contained quantities of carbon in solid solution far beyond its solubility in body-centered cubic (bcc)-Fe in all the alloys investigated; the carbon atoms were non-homogeneously distributed as carbides or aggregates on dislocations due to autotempering. Tetragonality was observed in the steels with interstitial solute carbon concentrations in the range of 0.1 to 0.7 mass pct, but was not evident below 0.1 mass pct. The appearance and disappearance of tetragonality in the low-carbon steels may be explained by the disordered bcc ? ordered body-centered tetragonal (bct) mechanism, considering the partial tetragonality due to the heterogeneity of the interstitial solute carbon distribution. The existence of tetragonality in the autotempered low-carbon steels can alternatively be understood by a mechanism based on the kinetic decrease of tetragonality during cooling, where the microscopic strain release is the rate-controlling process. The excess carbon solubility in the autotempered low- and medium-carbon martensite is due to the existence of tetragonal distortions, owing to the slow kinetics of the tetragonality decrease during cooling.

     

Analysis of Molecular Species Profiles of Ceramide-1-phosphate and Sphingomyelin Using MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

Ceramide‐1‐phosphate (C1P) is a potential signaling molecule that modulates various cellular functions in animals. It has been known that C1P with different N‐acyl lengths induce biological responses differently. However, molecular species profiles of the C1P in animal tissues have not been extensively examined yet. Here, we developed a method for determination of the molecular species of a C1P using matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry with Phos‐tag, a phosphate capture molecule. The amounts of total C1P in skin, brain, liver, kidney and small intestine of mice were determined to be 344, 151, 198, 96 and 90 pmol/g wet weight, respectively. We found a C1P species having an α‐hydroxypalmitoyl residue (h‐C1P, 44 pmol/g wet weight) in mouse skin. The h‐C1P was detected only in the skin, and not other tissues of mice. The same analysis was applied to sphingomyelin after conversion of sphingomyelin to C1P by Streptomyces chromofuscus phospholipase D. We found that molecular species profiles of sphingomyelin in skin, kidney and small intestine of mice were similar to those of C1P in corresponding tissues. In contrast, molecular species profiles of sphingomyelin in liver and brain were quite different from those of C1P in these tissues, indicating selective synthesis or degradation of C1P in these tissues. The method described here will be useful for detection of changes in molecular species profiles of C1P and sphingomyelin.     

Evaluation of 400 low background 10-in. photo-multiplier tubes for the Double Chooz experiment

The Double Chooz is a reactor neutrino experiment which measures the last unknown neutrino mixing angle θ₁₃. The Double Chooz experiment uses two identical detectors placed at sites far and near from Chooz reactor cores. The detector uses 390 low-background and high performance 10-in. Photo-Multiplier Tubes (PMTs) to detect scintillation light from gadolinium loaded liquid scintillator. In order to test and characterize the PMTs and to tune operation parameter, we developed two types of PMT test system and evaluated 400 PMTs before installation. Those PMTs fulfilled our requirements and half of them were installed in the far detector in 2009 and physics data have been successfully taken since 2011.     

2.5kA/1.2kV两单元IGBT模块

介绍一种工业用2.5 kA/1.2 kV两单元IGBT模块.在该大电流器件中,P端到N端的内部连线电感非常小.半导体硅片的巧妙布局有效地提高了模块的散热能力,采用铝底板直接连接绝缘基板来提高热循环能力.对于这种底板面积较大的器件,为了获得更好的底板和散热片之间的热接触.底板被分成几段.2.5 kA/1.2 kV两单元IGBT模块的封装同样适用于1.8 kA/1.7 V两单元IGBT模块.     

Structure and formation of the twisted plywood pattern of collagen fibrils in rat lamellar bone

This study was designed to elucidate details of the structure and formation process of the alternate lamellar pattern known to exist in lamellar bone. For this purpose, we examined basic internal lamellae in femurs of young rats by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, the latter employing two different macerations with NaOH at concentrations of 10 and 24%. Observations after the maceration with 10% NaOH showed that the regular and periodic rotation of collagen fibrils caused an alternation between two types of lamellae: one consisting of transversely and nearly transversely cut fibrils, and the other consisting of longitudinally and nearly longitudinally cut fibrils. This finding confirms the consistency of the twisted plywood model. The maceration method with 24% NaOH removed bone components other than cells, thus allowing for three-dimensional observations of osteoblast morphology. Osteoblasts extended finger-like processes paralleling the inner bone surface, and grouped in such a way that, within a group, the processes arranged in a similar direction. Transmission electron microscopy showed that newly deposited fibrils were arranged alongside these processes. For the formation of the alternating pattern, our findings suggest that: (1) osteoblasts control the collagen fibril arrangement through their finger-like process position; (2) osteoblasts behave similarly within a group; (3) osteoblasts move their processes synchronously and periodically to promote alternating different fibril orientation; and (4) this dynamic sequential deposition of fibrils results in the alternate lamellar (or twisted plywood) pattern.     

Development of a Thermal Buffering Device to Cope with Temperature Fluctuations for a Thermoelectric Power Generator

To stabilize the heat input to a thermoelectric generator (TEG) and protect it from large temperature fluctuations, a thermal buffering device (TBD) was fabricated and examined using a typical Bi-Te TEG module and a brand-new Mg₂Si TEG module. The TBD comprises two adjoining heat storage containers, each containing different alloys, which can be optimized for the temperature range of the TEG. The combination of two alloys in series diminishes the thermal fluctuations, stabilizing the heat input to the TEG module. This is achieved by having two metallic materials with large enthalpies of fusion that can be placed between the heat source and the TEG. The combination of the two alloys can be optimized for the temperature ranges of Bi-Te, Pb-Te, or Co-Sb. For the Bi-Te TEG, 15Al-85Zn and 30Sn-70Zn alloys were used for the heat source side and the TEG side, respectively. The corresponding alloys for the Mg₂Si TEG were 20Ni-80Al and 7Si-93Al. With the use of a TBD, the Bi-Te TEG exhibited no notable damage even in the rather high temperature range beyond ??573?K. For the Mg₂Si TEG, no operational damage of the Mg₂Si TEG module was observed even with a temperature of 1020?K.     

A hybrid input charge‐pump using micropower thermoelectric generators

For industrial wireless transmitters, a hybrid input charge‐pump utilizing thermoelectric energy from waste heat is proposed in this paper. Unlike conventional converters, the proposed capacitor‐based converter supplies energy to a wireless transmitter by using a thermoelectric power source in combination with a rechargeable battery source. By combining the battery voltage and the thermoelectric generator (TEG) voltage, the proposed converter achieves a wider input range than conventional converters. Consequently, the proposed converter will enable the development of not only an industrial wireless transmitter but also various clean energy applications. Through theoretical analyses, simulations, and experiments, the following results are shown: 1. Even if the voltage of the TEG is small, the proposed converter can provide the sufficient voltage by compensating the insufficient voltage of the TEG with the battery voltage. 2. The formulas obtained by the theoretical analyses are useful for designing the proposed converter because the theoretical results correspond well with the simulation results. © 2012 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.